Description
Introducing Ontologia. A collaboration with Prospect Refuge Studio and meeting of Midwest minds. Examining light and form, the collaboration is the premiere collection for Victoria Sass (founder and design director of Prospect Refuge Studio). Ontologia plays upon the dramatic seasonal shifts of the Midwest’s climate and muses on how objects can be rethought and evolved. In Philosophy, Ontologia is the study of existence and the collection is a play on what it means to exist. In the uniqueness of each piece, personality is shaped by their individual responses to light and each “personality” expresses a unique character. The collection invites us to ponder how we live with things and how things live with us. Ontologia is a mixture of wood, metal and glass coming together to form an elegant, organic shape. While the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, every aspect of the composition conveys design intent. The collection incorporates our latest technology—a wooden ball and glass assembly that magnetically attaches to a fixture. The use of magnets allows for easy assembly and design flexibility while also ensuring firm, secure installation. Diffused by glass, Ontologia lights emit a rich, even glow with no “hot spots” but can also be placed in close proximity to an object to create a dramatic shadow. Every part of handcrafting our lights is carefully considered and done at our vertically integrated headquarters. While glass might get the spotlight, it shouldn’t outshine the finishes—the mostly metal and wood fixtures that hold our products together and add special unique details. We have our own in-house, artisan metal and wood experts right here at our headquarters, though many companies outsource and import this aspect of creation. Vertical integration is a practice of bringing more operations in-house. For us, this means that we don’t just blow glass. Vertical integration makes sense both for quality of our objects and the people who make them. The six-light Ontologia chandelier is a statement piece unlike any other. Deconstructing its own materiality, the Ontologia chandelier leverages everything from the light it emits to the connective cording to create a discourse on what it means to exist. While the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, each aspect of the of the arrangement conveys design intent. Playing upon forces in nature, magnetic hardware makes the collection sturdy in construction, yet malleable in application.